Bolt-action firearm



T. C. JOHNSON BOLT ACTION FIREARM Dec. 22, 1925.

Oct. 22, 1925 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 1 1 ill Dec. 22

JOHNSON BOLT ACTION FIREARM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1925Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

UNITED sr THOMAS C. JOHNSON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TWINCHESTER RE- PTENT OFFHCE.

PEATING'ARMS Co, on NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

' BOLT-ACTION FIREARM.

application filed October 22, 1925. Serial No. 64,077.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, THOMAS C. JOHNSO acitizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Bolt-Action Firearms; and I do herebydeolare thefollowing, when taken in connection wlth the accompanying drawings,andthe characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute partof this applicatiomand represent, 1n Fig. 1 a view in right-hand sldeelevation of a bolt-action firearm constructed 1n ac- A cordance with myinvention.

Fig.2 an enlarged, broken view of the receiver thereof, partly in sldeelevation and partly in central, vertical, longitudlnal section.

Fig. 3 a view in rear elevation of the receiver and the one-piececombination boltretainer and ejector.

Fig. 4 a view in central, longitudinal section on the line 44 of Fig. 3,showing the receiver, combination bolt-retainer and ejector, and theforward end of the bolt, the rear end of the bolt being broken away.

Fig. 5 a view partly in rear elevation and partly in transverse sectionon the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 a view in partly longitudinal, vertical, central section of thefront end of the.

bolt, with the rear end thereof broken away.

Fig. 7 a view in side elevation of the combination bolt-retainer andejector.

My invention relates to an improved boltaction firearm of the classproviding against the accidental removal of the bolt from the armwhenthe positive bolt-stop of the arm has been withdrawn from action, or isout of play, the object being to produce an arm of the-type described,of superior simpliclty, durability, convenience, reliability, and safetyin use.

lVith these ends in View, my invention consists in a bolt-action firearmcharacterized'by having a combined bolt-retainer and cartridge-ejectormade in one piece and shaped and postioned to prevent the accidentalremoval of the bolt from the arm when the positive bolt-stop thereof hasbeen withdrawn from action, or is out of play, but yielding to permitthe withdrawal of the bolt from the arm when the user of the arm exertsa special draft upon the bolt for that purpose.

My inventionv further consists in a boltactlon firearm characterized asabove stated, having certain details of construction and combinationsofparts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention, as herein shown, I employ a receiver 10,comprising an approximately cylindrical forward end 11 having aninternal thread 12 for the reception of the customary barrel 13 andfurther provided with locking-shoulders 14 for co-action withlocking-lugs 15 formed lntegral with the forward end of an upturn andpull-back breech-bolt 16. The receiver is further formed with a centralbore 17 extending therethrough and a median loading-and-ejection opening18. At its rear end it is formed with a bridge-portion 19. The bolt 16reciprocates in the bore 17, its locking-lugs sliding in grooves 20 androtatmg one-quarter turn when the bolt is in its extreme forwardposition to co-act with the shoulders 14 aforesaid. The bolt 16 isfurther provided with a central, longitudinal bore 21 for the receptionof a firing pin 22, and formed on its underside with alongitudinally-extending series of predeterminedly irregularly shapedgrooves 28, 24 and 25 lying in the same longitudinal plane and adaptedto receive and co-act with a onepiece, combination bolt-retainer andcartridge-ejector 26, which, as shown in Fig. 5, is mounted in a slot 27located in a central, longitudinal plane passing through the axis of thereceiver at an angle of about 30 from the vertical and opening from thelower her 26 and at its other end against the bottom of a complementarybore 31 in the receiver 10, within which bore the spring is tration .of.my invention, itsvsear 35 is constructed and arranged to act .topositively prevent the removal of the bolt from the receiver until it isdrawn out of the way'by an extra pull on the trigger 36 in the mannerfamiliar to personsskilled in the art to which this invention relates,but my improved combined part 26 is equally applicable to guns having.other well known forms of positive bolt-stops.

I There are occasions when, for" the insurance o'f'safety, it isdesirable to carry a firearm with the action open,for example, in ahunting camp when there is more than one person present; on thefiring-line of a target-shooting match; and on similaroccasions Ifthis-be done with the ordinary bolt-action firearm, and the positivebolts-top' thereof is accidentally withdrawn from its-operativeposition, it not infrequently happens that the bolt drops by gravityaloneoutof the arm, and being naturally well covered with oil, picks upsand and dirt, rendering it necessary. to take the bolt to-pieces inorder to make sure that all destructive grit is removed therefrom beforeitis'replaced in the gun, and, in fact, before the arm can be safelyused again. I 1 The time required to recover the bolt, in case it fallsout ofthe arm, and for cleaning it thoroughly before, its reintroductionthereto, is often considerable, and seriously handicaps the owner oruser of the gun. If, after recovering the bolt, the user of'the arm doesnot take the time to thoroughly clean the bolt before putting it back inthe arm, serious consequences are liable to follow, since the smallestparticle of sand or grit may foul the system and cause it to jam andendanger the premature explosion of a cartridge in the barrel.

To avoid contingencies such as described, I have, as described, providedthe arm with my improved,'one-piece, combined bolt-retainer andcartridge-ejector, which takes the place of the separate membersheretofore provided forthe two functions indicated, in such a mannerasto simplify the arm and make its; action more reliable and safer.

InFig; 4 I have shown the bolt of my improvedfirearm withdrawn justbeyond the control of the sear .35, constituting the positive bolt-stopof the arm. My improved part 26 is formed with a' rounded pro ection 32on its upper edge, which co acts with the forward portion of the bottomsurface of the longitudinalgroove 24: of the bolt 16 in such a way as toyieldingly prevent the bolt from escaping from the receiver 10 at anytime when it is not positively prevented from falling out by thepositive bolt-stop,

i. e., the sear 35. The power with which the bolt is prevented fromescaping by my improved part 26 must be great enough to overcome theweight of the bolt under the action'of gravity,-but not, so greatbutthat the retaining action-of the part may be readily overcome by aconscious grasp by the user of the arm upon the bolt itself, which, whenpulled rearward, will overcome the retaining action of the improvedpart. The bolt 16, in order to separate completely from the receiver 10,must cam down the part 26 by riding over the projection 32 against thetension of the spring 29 and I' have so proportioned the elements24,132,

30,. and 29that the weight of the bolt alone I is insuiiicienttoaccomplish this result and.

thereby the accidental escape of the'bolt from the receiver is obviated.The other features of my improved gun constitute no portion of thisinvention and need not be'here further described, other than to pointout'the facts that my improved safety-actuator 33 lies to therightof;the center of the gun, obviating the dangerof scraping the users noseor Check, and that the receiver and barrel -10 and 13 are at tached tothe-stock portion by meansrof four centrally-located vertical screws84:, 37, 38, and 39', as shown in Fig. 2.

I claim:

1. A bolt-action firearm having a receiver, a breech-bolt locatedtherein, a positive boltstop, and a one-piece, combined bolt-retainerand ejector, whereby'the unintentional escape of the breech-bolt fromthe receiver is prevented when the positive bolt-stop is out of play. v1 4 2. A bolt-action firearm having a receiver, a reciprocativebreech-bolt located therein,

a positive bolt-stop, and a one-piece, springpressed, combinedbolt-retainer and e ect or co-operating with the breech-bolt and thereceiver to yieldingly resist the escape of the breech-bolt from thereceiver when the positive bolt-stop is out of play.

3. A bolt-action firearm having a receiver, a breech-bolt locatedtherein and provided with -a cam-surface, a positive bolt-stop, and aone-piece, combined ejector and bolt retainer'co-operating with the camsurface to a bolt located therein, the said receiver and with the saidcam surfaces, whereby the esbolt being each provided with one of a paircape of the breech-bolt from the receiver is of complementary,longitudinal, radial slots, yieldingly resisted when the positive bolt-10 a positive bolt-stop, cam-surfaces in one of stop is eat of play. I

5 said slots, and a one-piece, spring-pressed; In testimony whereof, Ihave signed this combined bolt-retainer and ejector positionedspecification. 1 in the other of the said slots to co-operate THOMAS C.JOHNSON.

